Bill Bishop -- The big sort: why the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart
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This book makes good points about how and why our country (the
U.S.A) is moving in the direction that it is.  And, it presents good
evidence to support those ideas.  Don't be discouraged by the fact
that Bishop fills a good number of pages proving some rather simple
and perhaps even obvious idea.  The latter chapters of the book
provide very interesting analysis of our politics and society, and
of the consequences of the changes that he describes.

Some consequences: (1) In districts where voters have become more
homogeneous, representatives (state legislators, U.S. Congressional
representatives) have become more extreme in the positions that they
hold. (2) Because representatives have become more extreme, there
are fewer moderates.  (3) Because representatives have become more
extreme and there are fewer moderates, our state legislatures and
the U.S. Congress has become more balkanized, more partisan, and
less able or willing to compromise.

Some of the mechanisms that make this sorting into homogeneous
groups happen: (1) Geographical sorting -- Like-minded people are
choosing and migrating so as to live in the same geographical areas
as others.  (2) Clustered political issues and values, e.g. private
property rights, abortion, gay rights, school prayer, etc. -- State
your position on one of these and your position on the others is
highly predictable.  (3) Enforcement -- The political parties
(Democratic and Republican) and leaders in them demand conformance
to the party line, and they withhold funding and support for
failure. (4) Funding of think tanks that support their party's
positions on various issues.  (5) Funding from interest groups and
commercial interests etc. -- This funding seems to align with the
extremes of left and right; and since issues are clustered,
financial support for one issue often effectively supports other
issues in the cluster.

This sorting process and the rigidity of positions of voters is
assisted by our ability to choose the kind of news and opinions that
we want to believe.  We could almost claim that the purpose of the
Internet is to enable us to choose information, news, and opinions
that we each want and already agree with.

Another facilitating feature is our desire in these insecure
financial times and, to some, these frightening times to chose the
comforting company of those with ideas and values like our own.

Lack of trust by citizens in their representatives in government
results in voters who demand that their elected representatives
strictly adhere adhere to their party's positions on all issues
rather than attempt to work with other representatives to solve
problems.

The chapter titled "Choosing a side" is especially interesting
because it explains how, during the last four decades, political
support organizations have become more homogeneous and more partisan
and very un-accepting of anyone from "the other side" (Democrat or
Republican).  The focus is more on winning (in particular winning
for a left or a right point of view), and less on solving problems.

We are making lifestyle choices and in doing so, we are becoming a
nation that is divided along a number of dimensions, for example,
urban vs. rural, weakly vs. strongly religious, etc.

Bishop offers some comments on how these changes are a part of
modernism and a post-modern reaction to it, as well as materialism
and a post-materialist reaction to that.  I don't understand
post-modernism, so I can comment much on this one.

Bishop provides an interesting section on what strategies for
swaying and uniting voters work (and don't work) among people who
have migrated to and want to live in communities with like-minded
and homogeneous people.  It's seems that the most effective
influence are those that are known by, respected by, and most
similar to those in the community.

And, we're left with a dysfunctional political systems that can't
help us solve the societal, environmental, problems except in the
sense that a minority can usually block solutions that *they* don't
want.

So, let's look at a few facts that explain where we are and how we
got there:

1. There are organizations that hold politicians hostage,
   threatening to withhold all funding and support and threatening
   to support and finance an opponent in the next election cycle.

2. Politicians of each of the major political parties (Democrats
   and, especially, Republicans) hold all the same positions on each
   of a set of important issues (for example, abortion, taxes,
   property rights, etc.).  Their voters in that political party do
   too.  That means that any politician who strays on any one of
   these important issues can likely and easily be replace by a
   politician who has the "correct" views on *all* of these issues.

3. Minority politics is effective.  Our Federal government is
   designed to enable a minority to block action.  (This is true at
   the California state government, too, especially with respect to
   approving new taxes, which requires a super-majority approval.)
   The recent "bi-partisan" agreement to raise the federal debt
   ceiling in order to avoid a default on the federal debt is a good
   example: Republicans were able to block any raising of revenues,
   no matter what the shape or size.

We seem to be headed toward increasing conformity and uniformity
within groups and greater, more extreme differences between (across)
different groups.

We are becoming a nation whose national government is better at
blocking action than it is at solving problems.  Furthermore, it
seems to do so more and more frequently.  Perhaps this seems great
for those who favor small government and who feel that less action
by the federal government is better than more.  However, for those
in need of governmental help and services, it's worse.  And, with
respect to growing income and wealth inequality, we are likely to
get no help from our government.  Bishop convincingly argues that we
are becoming a nation whose government is dysfunctional and
incapable of solving any of a large range of problems.

Bishop worries that strong political interest and participation by
citizens and voters seems to lead inevitably to extreme
partisanship; and partisanship leads to a blocked government and the
inability to solve problems. 

08/20/2011

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